Any married person regardless of male or female, if his/her marriage is still valid and his / her spouse is still alive and if he/she has married with another person within or outside Malaysia , he/she has committed bigamy.

According to Section 494 of the Penal Code: If found guilty, a bigamist shall be sentenced to imprisonment up to 7 years and fine.

The second marriage is invalid. If the bigamist is a male, the second woman he had married is not his lawful wife. In view of this, if the said man dies without a will, the second woman has no right to inherit his properties. But it is provided under the law that the second wife can ask for maintenance for her children from the said man.

Bigamy is an irresponsible act. It is also a serious crime. Therefore, it is not accepted and recognized by law.

If a married person, particularly a married man conceals the truth and marries another woman thus misleading the woman to believe that she is a lawful wife, marry him, cohabit with him and have sex with him, it is cheating. If found guilty, he could be sentenced to imprisonment up to 10 years and fine under Section 493 and 495 of the Penal Code. If the second wife gives birth to children, her children will be illegitimate children. They will have no legal status and the real father has no legal right over the children. Custody will be given to the mother.

Hence, any married persons who wish to marry again must make sure that their present marriage is invalid or their spouses had already away to avoid committing bigamy.

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